Electric sign.



W. H.. WEEKS.

ELECTRIC SIGN.

APPLIOATIOH TILED MAY 29, 1912.

1,060,519. Patented Apr. 29, 1913.

EH31 J We) ATTORNEY INVENTOR NAM; umwmw UNITED STATES, PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM HOLDEN WEEKS, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

ELECTRIC SIGN.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM HOLDEN WEEKS, a citizen of the United States, residing in'the cit-y,,county, and Stateof New York, have invented 'a new and useful Im- ..p r eeaaa ka iefiieaa:etaeisee e a 'spepificat on. o My vention relates to certain new and useful improvements on the electric sign described and claimed in Letters Patent of the United States No. 1,025,892 issued to me May 7, 1912, in which the letters or characters spelling a certain word or intelligible arrangement of characters to be advertised, are'caused to move. and tumble about in apparently careless and meaningless fashion, and then to fall into a regular order or position so as to spell out the word or intelligible arrangement of characters, and then to repeat indefinitely. In my said Letters Patent, I have intended to claim broadly the combination with the several linesof lamps forming the consecutive positions of the several letters or characters from their initial positions through their disorderly positions to their final orderly positions, of

means for switching the electric current through the several lines of lamps from the initial positions through the disorderly positions to the final positions, until all the letters or characters are shown in the regular order, and then cutting out all the lamps forming the final positions, and repeating, as stated in the statement of invention and claim. But the specific switching means I have shown and described in said Letters Patent as one example of said invention are arranged to show the described disorderly motions of each letter of the arbitrary word USIT as occurring in succession, each letter commencing its disorderly movement after the preceding letter has fallen into its final orderly position, but all the letters appearing together in their final proper order for a short period and then all being obliterated either simultaneously as by the arrangement of switch shown or in quick succession as briefly mentioned in said patent. Sometimes I may wish to vary this specific arrangement of the switching means so as to cause the disorderly motions ofall the letters or characters commencing simultaneously or consecutively to continue simultaneously, the letters falling into their final orderly positions either consecutively or simultaneously. This specific variation Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed May 29, 19 12.

Patent-ed Apr. 29, 1913.

Serial No. 700,446.

of my broad patented invention forms the subject of my present application, and in order that it may be clearly understood I shall describe in detail the mode in which I carry it intopractice and then point out the 43-. thelclaim a .a 1. .2,

' :Referenceis-tobe had to the accompanying drawings forming part of this specification in which like numbers designate corresponding parts in all the figures.

Figures 1,2, 3, 4, represent the letters spelling the arbitrary word USIT, going through their disorderly movements s1multaneously before falling into their orderly positions, in accordance with my present invention. Fig. 5 represents diagrammatically, with the switch developed, means for switching the electric current simultaneously through the disorderly positions of the letters US IT and then through the final orderly positions of the letters in accordance with my present invention.

In the drawings, 11 designates the line of lamps or clusters of lamps forming when lighted the disorderly positions of the letter U, and 12 the final orderly position of said letter; 13 designates the line of lamps or clusters of lamps, each forming the disorderly positions of the letter S, and l t the final orderly position of said letter; 15, the line of lamps forming the disorderly positions of the letter I, and 16, the final orderly position of the letter I and 17 the disorderly positions and 18 the final orderly position of the letter T all essentially as described in my said prior Letters Patent, No. 1,025,892. In said patent, I showed means for switching the electric current through the several lines of lamps so arranged that each letter would commence its disorderly movements after the preceding letter had fallen into its final orderly position.

In the present invention, I employ means for switching the electric current simultaneously through the several lines of lamps, commencing all simultaneously or successively, so that the disorderly movements of the several letters will take place simultaneously. The specific means I have here shown diagrammatically for this purpose, consist of a cluster of fixed contacts 19 electrically connected with the initial disorderly positions of all the letters USIT, followed by similar clusters 20, 21, 22 and 23 of fixed contacts electrically connected respectively switchin means could be readily arranged then to light all the lamps forming the final orderly positions of the letters simultaneously or in any desired order, but I prefer to have the several letters fall into their 1,; final orderly positions in the word in regular spelling order, the disorderly motions of each letter continuing meanwhile until it has fallen into its respective final position as shown and described in my said prior patent. In this example of practice, similarly, I have shown this result obtained by arranging the fixed contact 27 electrically connected with the final position of the letter U, adjacent to the first cluster of contacts 19, 'to be touched and remain in touch with a prolonged single contact 28 of the moving switch member 25 until after all the letters have completed their movements. As soon as the finalcont-act 27 of the first letter. U- is made, a separate multiple moving contact 29 touches successively a similar line of clusters of fixed multiple cont acts 30, 31-, 32, 33 and 34, connected respectively with the successive disorderly positionsof all the remaining letters.SI

T, so that said remaining-letters will all simultaneously continue their; disorderly movements, until the adjacent fixed final contact 35 of the letter S comes into touch with the prolonged moving contact 36.

Another moving multiplecontact 37 then comes into successive contact with a line of clusters of fixed contacts 39, 40, 41, 42 and 43, electrically connected with both the remaining letters I T, so that both said letters will continue their disorderly movements until the adjacent final fixed contact- 44 of the letter I comes into touch with the prolonged moving contact 45. Another 'movable contact 46 then comes successively into touch with the line of contacts 46%, 47,

48, 49, and 50 electrically connected with the successive disorderly positions of the letter T, which therefore continues its disorderly movements until its final fixed contact 51 comes into touch with the prolonged moving contact 52. The complete Word USIT'being now spelled and the letters remaining stationary, they continue so as long as the several prolonged moving contacts 28, 36, 45 and 52 continue in touch with the respective fixed final contacts 27, 35, 44 and 51.

I generally prefer to have all the letters of the complete word or arrangement of characters. disappear simultaneously as illustrated in my said priorpatent and also in the present drawings, where the ends of all the prolonged contacts 28, 36, 45 and 52, are shown ig. 5) leaving the fixed final contacts 27, 35, 44, and 51, of all the letters simultaneously, thus causing their simultaneous disappearance.

Iclaim: -1

-An electric sign consisting of irregular lines of electric lamps orclusters of lamps, each lamp or cluster;of l'ampsiorming a certain letter of a. ,wordiorta certain char acter of an intelligible arrangement of characters, and each irregular line of said letters or characters .extending'from an initial position out of its regularzorder in said word or arrangement:cit-characters through a series of consecutive disorderly positions to a final 'regularltarrd. orderly position in the .word orrrarrangement ioifcharacters, and

means for. f -flashing all hot the letters or characters) through;;their disorderly positions and them-extinguishing the first and then in' turn-feach'gsucceeding letter or character? in ;its1 disorderlyapositions, and flashingit in its final positiorizaindzmaintaining it there illuminatedwhilefallof the letters or characters, other; thaif {those which have already reached their final positions, are flashed through their disorderly positions and so on until/all of the letters or characters have reached their final positions when they are all cut out and then repeating the display substantially as described.

WILLIAM HOLDEN' WEEKS.

In presence of v CLARENCE L. BURGER, M. H. YOUNG.

h v 4 Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents.

Washington, D. C. 

